'Package deal' for former Cooper star Vaughn draws scrutiny

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station19

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"Pete Kaffey was an assistant basketball coach at Cooper High School in April and also the self-described “mentor” to Rashad Vaughn, the team’s star and one of the nation’s top prep players.

But Vaughn left for a prep school near Las Vegas in July — and Kaffey was not far behind in joining him.

By October, Vaughn was a rising star at Findlay Prep, a program in Nevada known as a pipeline for potential NBA talent. Kaffey, meanwhile, emerged as a Findlay Prep assistant coach."

http://www.startribune.com/sports/236317431.html?page=1&c=y
 

Words like "mentor", "package deal", "friend of the family", or any story that simply mentions Findlay Prep/Henderson International. ... it's why we all love the purity and sanctity of college basketball!

It's why I try to ignore all of the "gray matter" surrounding college athletics' big money-makers (football/basketball). If we get all caught up in that stuff, it'll take away our enjoyment of the actual games. The price we have to pay for our college basketball & football "fandom" is tolerating all the greasy characters that get involved.
 

Hate to admit it but I think you're spot on SS.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Words like "mentor", "package deal", "friend of the family", or any story that simply mentions Findlay Prep/Henderson International. ... it's why we all love the purity and sanctity of college basketball!

It's why I try to ignore all of the "gray matter" surrounding college athletics' big money-makers (football/basketball). If we get all caught up in that stuff, it'll take away our enjoyment of the actual games. The price we have to pay for our college basketball & football "fandom" is tolerating all the greasy characters that get involved.
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Agreed.

I'm quite certain that no funds have changed hands in the Kaffey-Vaughn situation or with Levi Bradley, the football "mentor" in the other strib article. ;)
 

I have a sneaky feeling there is a "Whole Lotta Shaking' Going On" throughout all of it.
 


So here is the classic conundrum: Do you take Rashad for a one and done in exchange for the NCAA poking around a year or so later? Wherever Rashad goes, it's going to look skanky. I don't want another scandal. Not worth it.
 

Has Kaffey been mentioned here on GH in the Vaughn discussions? Can't recall that he has.
 

jamiche said:
So here is the classic conundrum: Do you take Rashad for a one and done in exchange for the NCAA poking around a year or so later? Wherever Rashad goes, it's going to look skanky. I don't want another scandal. Not worth it.
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Yeah I'll pass.

I didn't realize Kaffey was only 27. Do Rashad's parents really feel comfortable with a 27-year old being his "mentor"? Especially one who has had a run-in with the law before. I don't know, the whole Kaffey-Findlay-UNLV connection is obviously shady. Too bad.
 

Dr. Don is right. There are handshake deals all over the place.

I love how Findlay Prep is funded by a UNLV booster and how former Findlay Prep coaches are coaches at UNLV. I also love how players who attend Findlay Prep go to UNLV and how Rashad Vaughn's handler Kaffey announced Vaughn would visit UNLV almost immediately upon arriving at Findlay Prep. There's no way any of this could be a coincidence, right?

I'm guessing this is how it went down. Someone from the UNLV Findlay Prep circle reached out to Kaffey. They told him about all the D-1 and NBA players who go to Findlay. Kaffey becomes intrigued, but he doesn't let them get to Vaughn. Then the UNLV Findlay Prep circle makes Kaffey an offer. We'll give you a sweet job if you bring Vaughn out to Findlay Prep and tell him to visit UNLV. The UNLV Findlay Prep circle tells Kaffey to sell Vaughn on the idea of playing for the best team against the best competition. Then he tells Vaughn that UNLV is a good school to look at. Heck, they just had the number one pick. Vaughn trusts him because he has trusted him his whole life. He knows about Findlay and his mentor Kaffey got him there. So Vaughn figures Kaffey is right about UNLV too, so he decides to visit the school.

One more thing. Does anyone else think that Kaffey saw Vaughn at an early age and made it his goal to be his mentor in order to cash-in on Vaughn? I don't believe for a second that Kaffey was looking out for Vaughn altruistically. Kaffey was in on this to get something. Kaffey was about 20-years-old when he saw Vaughn in 5th grade. I don't think I'd want a 20-year-old mentoring my son in just about anything, especially when both parents are around.

Good job Kaffey, you made your money off the back of this kid. I hope he goes to UNLV so you get a bonus of a better job or under-the-table money.
 



Gopherguy0723 said:
I love how Findlay Prep is funded by a UNLV booster and how former Findlay Prep coaches are coaches at UNLV.
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that line was all you needed to say. Too bad we don't have "TSA" - The Sanford Academy-- helping the athletically gifted achieve their dreams of playing for the U on the way to a lucrative pro career and then giving back to the U to further help-- sounds like Louie and his committee could use this as a long term plan.

actually now that I think about it, when Renee opened the HPA -High Performance Academy- their initial plan was to have tutors and/or classes there. So maybe someday
 

FWIW, Cory Joseph went to Findley Prep and wound up at Texas. They may push kids to UNLV, but doesn't always happen.
 

I know when I look for mentors, I always pick the guy who's been in prison for the longest. Lessons about going to church every morning were the real impetus to move to Vegas where church is the #1 priority of the community.
 

AO54 said:
I know when I look for mentors, I always pick the guy who's been in prison for the longest. Lessons about going to church every morning were the real impetus to move to Vegas where church is the #1 priority of the community.
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That is only because of all the Bingo they play there.
 



Kaffey or no Kaffey, nice opportunity for Rashad. Lets see...this season the Pilots will fly to Los Angeles, where they will play in the Staples Center; Vancouver, British Columbia; Honolulu; Memphis, Tenn.; Dayton, Ohio; Springfield, Mass.; Lubbock, Texas; and Toronto.....might be just a little more intriguing than a senior season at Cooper. But then again, he did miss the chance to play in that away game against Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity.
 

scher215 said:
FWIW, Cory Joseph went to Findley Prep and wound up at Texas. They may push kids to UNLV, but doesn't always happen.
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Very true. Many players from Findlay didn't go to UNLV. Most don't. But some do, and the intent is to clearly steer these high profile kids to UNLV.
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
Dr. Don is right. There are handshake deals all over the place.

I love how Findlay Prep is funded by a UNLV booster and how former Findlay Prep coaches are coaches at UNLV. I also love how players who attend Findlay Prep go to UNLV and how Rashad Vaughn's handler Kaffey announced Vaughn would visit UNLV almost immediately upon arriving at Findlay Prep. There's no way any of this could be a coincidence, right?

I'm guessing this is how it went down. Someone from the UNLV Findlay Prep circle reached out to Kaffey. They told him about all the D-1 and NBA players who go to Findlay. Kaffey becomes intrigued, but he doesn't let them get to Vaughn. Then the UNLV Findlay Prep circle makes Kaffey an offer. We'll give you a sweet job if you bring Vaughn out to Findlay Prep and tell him to visit UNLV. The UNLV Findlay Prep circle tells Kaffey to sell Vaughn on the idea of playing for the best team against the best competition. Then he tells Vaughn that UNLV is a good school to look at. Heck, they just had the number one pick. Vaughn trusts him because he has trusted him his whole life. He knows about Findlay and his mentor Kaffey got him there. So Vaughn figures Kaffey is right about UNLV too, so he decides to visit the school.

One more thing. Does anyone else think that Kaffey saw Vaughn at an early age and made it his goal to be his mentor in order to cash-in on Vaughn? I don't believe for a second that Kaffey was looking out for Vaughn altruistically. Kaffey was in on this to get something. Kaffey was about 20-years-old when he saw Vaughn in 5th grade. I don't think I'd want a 20-year-old mentoring my son in just about anything, especially when both parents are around.

Good job Kaffey, you made your money off the back of this kid. I hope he goes to UNLV so you get a bonus of a better job or under-the-table money.
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You left something critically important out. The money that might accidently find its way into Rashad's pocket.
 


Findlay Prep

I remember a 60 Minutes episode on Findlay prep and how they are connected to Texas, the story was prompted because both Tristan thompson and the Joseph kid went to Texas. I looked online briefly but was unable to find it, maybe a computer guy or someone with more time on their hands can find it. It was very interesting and would fun to look back on now with UNLV.
 

Newsweek article from a few weeks ago: Findlay Prep: A Top High School Basketball Team, With No School

To borrow a term from the digital retail age, Findlay Prep is not a “brick-and-mortar” high school. Oh, sure, Findlay Prep has students – 11 in all this season, hailing from four continents and seven sovereign nations. Two of the students happen to be seven-foot tall. And Findlay Prep has teachers, to a degree. The “school’s” full name is Findlay Prep of the Henderson International School, the latter designation referring to a private school whose teachers instruct Findlay Prep’s 11 ballers and whose campus provides a basketball gym (for a price, of course).

But here’s something you should know about the Henderson International School: It accepts students for grades one through eight. The Findlay Prep students attend a high school that is bereft of high school peers, and all 11 of them reside in the same $425,000 home that is located less than a mile from the aforementioned school.

http://www.newsweek.com/say-good-bye-hickory-high-207442

Go Gophers!!
 

In my mind Vaughn is officially gone now. Kaffey's future depends on delivering him out of state and preferably to UNLV or the highest profile school possible.
 

BleedGopher said:
Newsweek article from a few weeks ago: Findlay Prep: A Top High School Basketball Team, With No School

To borrow a term from the digital retail age, Findlay Prep is not a “brick-and-mortar” high school. Oh, sure, Findlay Prep has students – 11 in all this season, hailing from four continents and seven sovereign nations. Two of the students happen to be seven-foot tall. And Findlay Prep has teachers, to a degree. The “school’s” full name is Findlay Prep of the Henderson International School, the latter designation referring to a private school whose teachers instruct Findlay Prep’s 11 ballers and whose campus provides a basketball gym (for a price, of course).

But here’s something you should know about the Henderson International School: It accepts students for grades one through eight. The Findlay Prep students attend a high school that is bereft of high school peers, and all 11 of them reside in the same $425,000 home that is located less than a mile from the aforementioned school.

http://www.newsweek.com/say-good-bye-hickory-high-207442

Go Gophers!!
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There's not even actual school and there's no other students? Wow, didn't know that.
 


The more I read about Vaughn and his move to Findlay the more I feel I need to take a shower. I know this won't be a popular opinion on this board, but I won't be upset if he doesn't play at the U for his 6 months of college. He's undoubtedly a highly talented player, but I just can't get by all the baggage it appears he would bring with him.
 

WindyCityGopher said:
The more I read about Vaughn and his move to Findlay the more I feel I need to take a shower. I know this won't be a popular opinion on this board, but I won't be upset if he doesn't play at the U for his 6 months of college. He's undoubtedly a highly talented player, but I just can't get by all the baggage it appears he would bring with him.
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I'd still take him, but won't be as upset if he doesn't come here for the reasons you mentioned.

So does he have to "PAY" to go to Findlay prep? Cannot figure out how this is not considered making money on playing basketball....
 

I'm not the thrilled with one and done players. Maybe if we needed that one player to 'put us over the top' I could get on board but we're not at that point.

Ideally we could use another wing and a 6' 10+ guy that could play the 4 and the 5. Yeah I know hard to find.
 

station19 said:
I'm not the thrilled with one and done players. Maybe if we needed that one player to 'put us over the top' I could get on board but we're not at that point.

Ideally we could use another wing and a 6' 10+ guy that could play the 4 and the 5. Yeah I know hard to find.
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Agreed on the bold. The Don ran into some experience problems after a rash of one (or two) and done stars across the street from Williams. I would get in arguments with some of my friends about how he should be focusing more on getting some 3 and 4 year guys. They would try to dismiss my arguments with the rhetorical question: "do you honestly expect him to be passing on guys who have been drafted high by NHL teams?" and my response was "when we are finishing behind teams who don't have those kind of players, then yes I do". Also agree with you that getting one to fill a role in a year where we expected to be in the mix for actually contending for a championship (conference or national) would make sense.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
In my mind Vaughn is officially gone now. Kaffey's future depends on delivering him out of state and preferably to UNLV or the highest profile school possible.
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Agreed. There's no way, unless Pitino wants to wade into the cesspool that is Findlay Prep. He'll go to the highest bidder, which won't be the Gophers.
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
Very true. Many players from Findlay didn't go to UNLV. Most don't. But some do, and the intent is to clearly steer these high profile kids to UNLV.
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From my recollection, there are very few Findlay kids that end up playing for UNLV, and I can't recall a single high-profile kid that went that route. Yes, Findlay gets a lot of kids to school in Henderson but in the 9 years I've been in LV, I don't recall the Rebels landing any major recruit from there. Wouldn't surprise me if there were one or two because I don't follow the program THAT closely, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

I don't know why a recruit would want to go to UNLV. The Mountain West is NOT a glamorous conference and the roster has had an unbelievable amount of turnover. They've been trying to build with a ton of blue chippers that washed up at their original school or just wanted more playing time, and this last year they had 2 kids that would be starters this season transfer out. It's a revolving door, and I doubt Dave Rice lasts much longer.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
From my recollection, there are very few Findlay kids that end up playing for UNLV, and I can't recall a single high-profile kid that went that route. Yes, Findlay gets a lot of kids to school in Henderson but in the 9 years I've been in LV, I don't recall the Rebels landing any major recruit from there. Wouldn't surprise me if there were one or two because I don't follow the program THAT closely, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

I don't know why a recruit would want to go to UNLV. The Mountain West is NOT a glamorous conference and the roster has had an unbelievable amount of turnover. They've been trying to build with a ton of blue chippers that washed up at their original school or just wanted more playing time, and this last year they had 2 kids that would be starters this season transfer out. It's a revolving door, and I doubt Dave Rice lasts much longer.
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Anthony Bennett
The kids like Vegas, it's not that complicated.
 

Give me a Buggs type kid who is a project for Coach Pitino over any prima donna any day.

We don't need no prima donna's, we need college basketball players.
 

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